All of them kept their eyes peeled as they moved. Merlin, Vetica, and Charlie sat on the front of the wagon, scanning the road ahead. Bleedy and Mousifer sat in the back, watching their flank. Orb floated between the two groups to stave off boredom. The dungeon core had been disappointed to leave Port Carrus before they got a chance to try out the stone life jackets Charlie had made for everyone. For some reason, Merlin and Vetica had seemed relieved. That was alright, they’d be back in Port Carrus before they knew it.
Merlin looked down from the tree line and unrolled the quest contract that Tole had given them. He’d been halfway through the description when he’d stopped reading earlier. He continued where he left off. “While they resemble bears, Sin Bears are significantly more dangerous. Their thick hides are resistant to many forms of elemental magic and their tendency to live in groups makes them formidable opponents. These creatures are incredibly physical fighters, so be wary if you need to get in close,” Merlin read. His shoulders shrank. “That sounds awful. Remind me why we took this contract again?”
Vetica leaned over and pulled the paper where it had rolled in on itself a bit towards the bottom. In bold letters it read, ‘Reward: 60 Gold.’
Merlin cracked a smile. “Oh, that’s right. The one thing that makes it all worth it. I was thinking we could split it three ways.”
Orb shot to the front of the wagon. “Excuse me? Are you only including the humans in that? Dungeon Cores are just as entitled to a share of the loot as anyone else. Back me up, Charlie.”
Vetica scoffed. “I’m wondering why Merlin thinks he would be entitled to any of it, considering he doesn’t fight.”
Merlin turned to her. “You do realize whose wagon it is you’re sitting on, don’t you? Marvin and I are the only reason we’ll be able to make it to our destination and back to the inn in one day. If anything, I should take extra off the top for Marvin as well.”
Marvin neighed in agreement.
Mousifer and Bleedy protested from the back of the wagon.
“They said if Marvin gets a cut, they’re entitled to compensation too,” Charlie translated.
Orb buzzed back and forth in the air. “Absolutely not! You tell them minions don’t get paid. If we start giving them money, then they’ll want raises. You know what follows raises for minions, Charlie? Health Insurance. Unions. Collective bargaining. We cannot allow our dungeon to go down that path. I’d rather shut down the entire dungeon. It’s what they would do on Earth.
Vetica raised a brow. “You can’t be serious.”
Orb dimmed a bit. “Nah, I’m just messing, man. I’m all for workers’ rights. We can give Mousifer and Bleedy each a single silver coin. It’ll come out of Merlin’s cut and will cover their lifetime compensation. Sound good guys?” he asked, floating over to look at Bleedy and Mousifer.
The two of them chimed in before Charlie could react.
“Ball!”
“Squeak!”
Orb floated next to Charlie and landed on his shoulder. “Hehe, we got em boys.”
Marvin crawled to a stop, and the group’s attention shifted toward the forest before them. The road was mostly unchanged. It was the trees themselves that were cause for concern. They were completely barren and devoid of leaves. Even if they were distracted momentarily, one moment they’d been passing leafy, life-filled trees, and the next they’d entered into an almost seasonal level of change. There weren’t any leaves on the ground though, it was like they had simply vanished. The trees themselves even appeared dead. They were rotten and filled with holes. Branches and limbs littered the ground around them. Even now, pieces of trees were crumbling and falling off.
“The quest sheet explained Sin Bears can sometimes damage the forest surrounding their immediate habitat, but this seems extreme. We should be wary of any other oddities that contradict the information we’ve been given,” Parent said.
Charlie frowned. The quest was already supposed to be fairly difficult, and he had concerns about taking his friends into a fight with a large pack of unfamiliar creatures. But now he started worrying more about Tole’s warning. The guildmaster had told them there were reports of these creatures acting strangely. If there really was an anomalous creature among them, things could get bad fast.
He turned to look as Merlin pulled the other sheet from under his cloak. The beast rankings chart that Tole had given them the day before. It listed out the thirteen ranks of beast. Charlie looked at the list over Merlin’s shoulder as the conman read them out loud.
- Ferret Class
- Cavall Class
- Satyr Class
- Makara Class
- Vanara Class
- Callisto Class
- Chimera Class
- Minotaur Class
- Yokai Class
- Cerberus Class
- Fafnir Class
- Behemoth Class
- Exigency Class
“We’re dealing with six, maybe seven, if there’s an anomaly, but I don’t like the sound of any of these. I wouldn’t even want to fight rank one. I don’t know what a ferret is, but it sounds terrifying!” Merlin said
Orb rotated on Charlie’s shoulder to face Merlin. “Ferret? Who the hell made these names? That’s a creature from Earth!”
“According to Zephyr, the beast's classifications were made by a visitor from Earth. They were based on Earthen mythology and designed to create a greater understanding of the creatures from this world. The rankings are commonly taught within guilds and academic institutions in Aysela. Your average person would lack familiarity with this knowledge, and also could not identify a creatures rank on their own. I’ll need to collect further data, but I should be able to identify anything below Minotaur rank at this stage,” Parent informed them.
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Charlie nodded along. Other than Callisto, which Tole had mentioned was the ranking for the beast they were going to fight, he’d only ever heard one of the terms before. After the fight with the core guardian in Sirra, Samantha, the guild member from Gemini, had declared the creature’s rank was likely anomalous Vanara. A Vanara class creature that was an anomaly compared to other creatures of similar rank. That had been Charlie’s first real battle against a powerful beast. He wondered how a creature like that compared to the ones they were about to face.
“So, how do people tell them apart? Are there certain traits or something?” Merlin asked.
“No. One can determine the rank of a creature by analyzing its power. Size, shape, species, and abilities vary wildly within classes. With only a few exceptions. Both Vanara class and Yokai class are typically humanoid creatures. Other than that, you can only gauge a creature’s class by gaining understanding over its power. Typically, those adept at magic can determine this easily. Fortunately, my own analysis should suffice for the time being,” Parent said.
Vetica scanned the forest ahead. “What about that last class? Exigency. It sounds…different.”
“That class is a bit controversial. Many have decided to take it off the list altogether. It’s a class designated for world-threatening events.”
Merlin swallowed. “Okay, maybe fighting the ferret wouldn’t be so bad in hindsight.”
The sound of claws scrambling up wood pulled Charlie’s attention away. He looked up just as Bleedy plopped onto the bench beside him and started sniffing at the air.
“What the heck’s gotten into him? I haven’t seen him this worked up since he first smelled Merlin’s wagon full of that hair-like plant he liked to eat,” Orb said.
“Ugh, don’t remind me. He burned through almost my entire stash that day!” Merlin said.
Bleedy ignored them. His head leaned forward, and his nose inhaled furiously. His eyes went wide as he found it. Whatever trail or scent had gotten his attention was on the tip of his nose now, and he wasn’t waiting for Marvin to take them to it. The racooneever jumped back into the back of the wagon, grabbed his wolf-teeth dentures, and then jumped off the back. Merlin had scarcely stood up to call after Bleedy when their furry friend skirted past the wagon and ran off down the road. Mousifer had apparently grabbed onto Bleedy before the hybrid creature could hop off the wagon. The tiny black mouse was flailing in the wind, holding onto Bleedy’s back for dear life.
The sudden movement of Bleedy shooting past almost spooked Marvin to death. He neighed furiously and jumped back, resting all of his weight on his hind legs. He settled quickly after realizing it was just Bleedy and turned back in confusion towards Merlin.
“Bleedy! Wait up!” Charlie called out. But the racooneever was quickly getting away. Charlie turned to look at Vetica with desperation in his eyes. “We have to catch him quick! What if he runs into those monsters on his own?”
Vetica looked at him, and then back down the path where Bleedy was running. She cursed under her breath, lifted Charlie off the bench between them, and jumped off the wagon. Merlin scrambled out behind them but lost his footing and face-planted in the dirt. “Wait for me!” he cried. Merlin turned back to Marvin. “Catch up with us when you can, okay?”
Marvin snorted in protest.
Charlie summoned twenty scalers to hang back and escort the wagon just in case something attacked it. Vetica ran as fast as she could after Bleedy. Through a forest of dead and rotting trees that were becoming more prevalent with each step she took. Even the clouds in the sky seemed gloomier than before, and there was a sudden chill in the air.
“Charlie!” Orb called out, buzzing after them. “We really shouldn’t approach this mission this way. I know we all got some power ups recently, except for Merlin, of course, but that doesn’t mean we should get reckless. Bleedy is smart! He’ll be alright. We should slow down and keep the dangerous creatures up ahead in mind. Remember, Merlin will be almost useless in the upcoming fight. We need to be careful.”
“Hey! I can excuse the first comment, but twice? Really?” Merlin shouted from behind them.
Orb’s warning quickly became irrelevant as they noticed Bleedy stopped further ahead in the road. He was sniffing at the ground in the center of a large clearing. An unnatural looking clearing. The trees had been ripped out of the ground and tossed aside. All around were deep, dark holes in the ground. They weren’t from where the trees had been. This was something else.
Merlin skidded to a stop next to them. “What’s going on? What—” He looked around. “I don’t like the look of this. What kind of creature could rip up entire trees like that?”
They approached Bleedy slowly, careful not to disturb whatever creatures might be lurking around. When they were within a few feet of Bleedy, he turned around and looked up at them. His wolf-teeth dentures slid into place, and he transformed into his wolf form.
Almost instantly, his tail wagged.
“He’s happy? What does he just like places that are creepy as hell or something?” Orb asked.
A voice rumbled inside Charlie’s head. “I sense them, noble little one!” Koi Levi warned.
Charlie tilted his head. “Sense who?”
“Others. They smell familiar. Like one of the places where Lusafeen kept my egg before returning to Troa. Before I ended up in your possession. Others. Others who were changed by the witch and that cult. They must be purged, powerful little one,” his core guardian said.
“I don’t understand. Others? Others like what?” Charlie asked.
Bleedy howled.
Merlin threw out a hand. “No! We need to be quiet!” he called out.
But it was too late.
The ground shook. Dirt slid out of place as something large slowly emerged from it. A massive brown bear with a thick black mane that started on its head and traveled all the way down its back.
Its dark, hateful eyes locked in on Bleedy, and it slowly leaned forward to sniff him. Its reaction was unusual, like it was trying to decide if the racoonever was friend or foe. Or maybe it was just deciding if it was in the mood for a snack.
But Bleedy seemed unbothered. His tail wagged happily, and he looked up at the larger creature in anticipation rather than fear. That wasn’t like him.
The bear looked past Bleedy and finally noticed Charlie and the others waiting there. It didn’t need to think very much about them, not like it had Bleedy.
It roared.
It roared so loud they turned away and did their best to cover their ears. More shaking. More Sin Bears rose out of the ground. As they emerged, Charlie noticed something was a little different about them. Something that hadn’t been on the sketch of the creatures in the quest contract.
Scorpion tails. Long, swinging scorpion tails.
“What the hell?” Orb asked. “How’d they forget to mention something like that?” he demanded.
“They did not. Those features are not typically seen on Sin Bears. These creatures are anomalous,” Parent told them.
Charlie swallowed. He finally realized what Koi Levi had been trying to say, and why Bleedy had acted the way they did. He finally understood the connection between Lusafeen and the creatures standing before them.
They were hybrids. They had been altered, and they were ready for a fight.
“The System has designated them as a hybrid race. Sin Bear Scorpions. I advise we flee at once,” Parent said.
The bears charged. It was a little late for that.